If I've heard one "What ARE you, a rabbit?!" quip, I've heard 'em all. Hey, I wouldn't mind being a rabbit. They're fluffy, cute, tasty... I'm somewhat fluffy, so I'm 1/3 of the way there.

Salad gets a bad rap. Say it with me: Veggies are your friend. Look, when I say "salad," I'm not talking about those pitiful, lifeless, limp little plates of iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots you get as a "side" when you go out for dinner. Those are not salads. Those are little plates of crap.

A great salad is a beautiful thing. It's robust. It's bountiful. It's fun. It's a delicious addition to an otherwise paltry, unbalanced meal. It is not a chore. At least, it shouldn't be.

Eat this!

Not this!

You have to have a base, of course. For me, a solid salad base consists of a few key veggies.

lettuces - multiple varieties (choose your favorites!)

tomatoes

cucumber

Without these, you don't have a salad. I don't know what you do have, but it isn't a salad.

Great, so you've got a start. But what else can you add to it to make it awesome? Not shredded cheese - nay! Not shredded carrots (who shreds carrots anyway? Cut those babies up and dip 'em in some ranch!). You could dice up some bell pepper(s). You could cube up your favorite cheese (in salads, I love colby-jack, fresh mozzarella, or muenster). Chop up a couple hard boiled eggs, whydontcha? Toss in some olives! Gahhh, I love olives.

In addition to the above mentioned common salad jazzer uppers, read on to see seven more easy ingredients that may not always cross your mind.

1. Artichoke Hearts

Canned Avocado Heart Quarters

Skip over the fresh artichokes for this. Go directly to the canned vegetable aisle and pick up canned plain artichoke hearts - or jarred marinated hearts. I love 'em both, but prefer plain for my salads so that the marinade-y flavor doesn't compete with the dressing I make. They're slightly salty and earthy and offer an awesome texture contrast.

2. Baby Corn

Canned Baby Corn

I don't think I need to say much more than "Baby Corn," do I? I mean, they're cute, they're fun, the flavor isn't overwhelming... And you don't find them in salads very often. They bring a moderate veggie'd up crunch to the party and a flavor that you can't quite put your finger on, in the best way possible.

3. Capers

Capers (you can use any brand)

Capers (or Caper Berries, depending on which variation your store carries) are a HUGE punch of flavor in a teeny little pea-sized package. They're briny and salty (a great way to replace table salt) and ever so slightly just pop in your mouth when you bite into them. Bonus: They're inexpensive and readily available. Impress your friends' taste buds with these. How Mediterranean of you!

4. Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower Seeds

This is something you obviously want to stay away from if you have an allergy. But if you don't? "Seedy" may not be a positive when we're talking about the south end of the Las Vegas strip - but when we're talking salad? Wining! A bit of nutty crunch comes to the party with this ingredient - along with healthy fats, amino acids, and a decent amount of fiber. Be sure to buy unsalted seeds if you want to control the salt!

5. Sprouts - choose your favorite!

Broccoli Sprouts

"Sprouts." What does that make you think? The ultimate "blah" health food of yesteryear? Time to reboot the ol' brain! Sprouts are fun, add tons of texture contrast (which is actually a little surprising, since they're not crunchy), and bulk up your bowl without tons of calories. Use alfalfa or broccoli sprouts for delicate bulk, or mung bean sprouts for a lighter, water-chestnut-like crunch of freshness.

6. Fresh Lemon Juice

Juice From Fresh Lemons

Huge fan of fresh citrus, that's me. I don't put it on everything, but damn near. Fresh lemon juice gives a fresh, bright pop to anything - and it goes especially well with fresh produce. It's not sweet (duh), so don't worry about fruiting up your salad. You could omit this if you're planning for a creaming dressing (ranch, caesar, etc.), but I think it pairs well with all of them.

7. Avocado

Avocado

Look. There isn't much of anything that doesn't approve when you add avocado with it. Yes, even sweets. Avocado chocolate pudding, anyone? AVOCADO SMOOTHIE, ANYONE?! (I think I just decided on dessert). In salad, it adds a creamy richness and loads of healthy fats. When you use ingredient #6 with it, it won't turn brown after you cut it.

Honorable Mentions: Muenster Cheese & Black Olives

Jumbo Black Olives

Muenster cheese, cubed small.

One of my favorite things about salad is that you can add or take out anything you want. So, mix and match! Me, I use all 7 of these ingredients in my salad - and more. Use things from the pantry, cut up some leftover meat, put together your own salad dressing... You'll be a lettuce-head in no time.

An apple a day, my friends, does not keep the doctor away. Unless you happen to be a minor-league caliber pitcher with a wicked fastball (fast apple?). But yes, apples ARE good for you. They're high in fiber, have a high water content, and are high in FLAVOR! I'm a big fan of just sitting down with an apple (or two, if we're being honest) and just going to town. On occasion, I like to get crazy. Baked crazy. Not that kind of baked. Geez. Cooking apples gives them a whole new warm, fuzzy, lovely dimension of flavor.

There is one exception. The king of all apples: The Honeycrisp Apple. Don't cook this guy. Don't cut him up and make him into apple chips. I mean, you can.. But don't!If you've never had a honeycrisp, you're in for a real treat when you find one in season (look around in October/November for the best ones). They're huge, about as crisp as you can imagine, ridiculously juicy, and sweet sweetsweet! So, get some of those while you're out. Look for sales - their only drawback is they're typically upwards of $4 per pound. Yikes!

But, I digress. Apples are soooo versatile. You can bake with applesauce in place of butter. You can make pies, crumbles, crisps, bars, dehydrated apples, freeze dried apples, apple chips, candied apples, apple fruit leather.... I'm like the Bubba Gump of apples here, people.

Let's take a trip down Apple Chip Alley...

CINNAMON APPLE CHIPS

INGREDIENTS & GADGETSApples, however many you'd like (I used 2 for this batch)Cinnamon, ground (to taste)optional: sweetener of choice1 very sharp knife or mandolin slicer

DIRECTIONSFirst, decide how you want your apple chips to look. If you want them to be round and have the pretty little "star" in the center, then you'll slice them whole. If you want to core them first, that's fine too - you'll end up with apple ring-shaped chips. Or, you can cut your apple in half vertically and remove the seeds with a melon baller or spoon, and then slice into chips.

Now, preheat your oven to 200 degrees F.

Take your apples, after you've decided what you're doing with the core, and slice them as thin as you can. I use a mandolin slicer for this.

If you don't have a mandolin slicer, DON'T FRET! You're still on the road to awesome apple chips. I promise. Just take your sharpest knife (make sure you have a sharp one, it makes slicing things thinly so much easier) and slice your little brains out. Figuratively. The main objective, regardless of your cutting mechanism of choice, is that you end up with thinly sliced apples that are all roughly the same size, shape, and thickness.

Lay your apple slices out in a single layer on a baking sheet. You don't need to line your sheet pan with parchment paper, but I always do - it makes clean-up so much easier and you basically eliminate the chances of your apples sticking to your pan. Don't overlap your apples or they won't cook evenly or crisp properly.

Sprinkle your apples with cinnamon. As much or as little as you like. It helps if you do the happy cinnamon dance while you're sprinkling.

Just kidding (no I'm not ... but you'll never see my dance).

This would be the time to sprinkle your sweetener as well, if you're using one (sugar, Splenda, etc.). Truthfully, I never use anything other than cinnamon. If you use apples that are already sweet, you don't need to sweeten them up any more. If you use, say, Granny Smiths? Well, you might be in for tart apple chips then. Maybe add some sweetener. Unless you like 'em tart!

That's it, really. Isn't this awesome? You're almost done! It's so easy - that's why I love it. Also, because I apparently have an apple problem.

Leave the apples in the oven for one hour. After an hour, they'll look a little curly around the edges, but they won't be finished cooking yet.

Flip the slices over. If you like your apple chips super cinnamon-y, add cinnamon to the second side after you flip. If not, well... Don't! (I do.) Pop 'em back in the oven for one more hour.

Depending on how thin your slices are, your chips may be done after the second hour. Chances are they'll be close, but not QUITE there. That's OKAY. Just leave them in there and check on them every 20 minutes or so. You don't really want them to brown, but you do want them to dry out and start to crisp. They'll finish crisping when you take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Alternatively, you don't have to let them get all crunchified. Maybe you like apple leather. Or apple rings. Or dried-but-not-crunchy apples. Dried Apple NotChips, if you will. If that's the case, start checking them just before the two hours are up and you'll have a little chew left.

When they're finished cooking (whether still chewy or crunchy), they'll appear to be quite dried out and a little shriveled up. Success!!

I'd love to sit here and tell you all about how many apples I've probably eaten in my life (too many) and about all the other wonderful apple recipes I'm considering sharing with you (I'll save 'em for a rainy day), but... I've got some major munching to do instead. Ciao for now! xo

Peanut butter has long been one of my favorite food groups. It's not a food group, you say? Shut your trap! In my world, it's most certainly a food group - an important one, at that. Ice cream and sushi are other important food groups here in Amyland, but I digress.

It's also no secret that I'm not a big chocolate fan. I know, it's weird. But put down your pitchforks for a moment! While I don't love chocolate in and of itself, I do like it in certain instances. I like it with and in things. I like it in chocolate chip cookies. I like it in chocolate milk. I love it with marshmallow, caramel, mint, or peanut butter. BINGO! PEANUT BUTTER! That's why these truffles are great. They're also great because they're 'raw', which the paleo and vegan crowds tend to be a big fan of.

This recipe comes from Raia's Recipes - a great resource for anyone seeking simpler eats, allergy-friendly treats, and less refined foods. You can view the original recipe here. Click "Read More" to see the recipe and pics. You won't be disappointed with this super simple treat.